I am South of the river again for this, the 6th station I have visited on the Jubilee Line. Of the 270 underground stations only 29 are south of the river with 7 of them on the Jubilee Line. [UPDATE: From 20th September 2021 two new stations opened on the Northern Line at Nine Elms and Battersea Power station bringing the total number of stations to 272 with 31 south of the river.] The station opened in 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line extension. It also serves the London Overground Line.
As I exited the train I had to check that I was at the right station as it looked just the same as the previous two with its brushed steel, concrete and glass. In fact this was the first to be designed in the Jubilee Line extension project.
The station has 4 lifts and 8 escalators and is built on 3 levels. The ticket office and shops lie immediately below ground in this large concourse which occupies the same space as St Paul's Cathedral. The two east west platforms of the Overground line are on the second level below ground and the Jubilee line platforms are on the lowest level 22m (72ft) down.
Above ground is a glass drum allowing natural light to reach deep into the station - the same design principle as previous stations on this line.
Next to glass drum of the station is a glass roofed bus station which was designed to fit in a relatively small space between the station drum and the railway ventilation openings, a high wall and tower blocks.
Looking up you can see a row of 16m long roof spans cantilevered from a row of central columns which support a 100m long glass and aluminium canopy. Had I not read about this I would probably not have looked up and noticed anything.
The first building you notice on leaving the station is the library. Clad in aluminium sheets anodised in a light bronze, the library stands out as it overlooks the plaza and the lake. It opened in 2011 and has recently been named the busiest library in London.
It sits at the north end of the Canada Water basin, an ecological lake in the site of an old dock which was originally used to import timber from Canada. Its shape of an inverted pyramid is to provide a single large library floor on a smaller footprint site.
On the other side of Canada Water is Surrey Quays shopping Mall and retail park. Although a reasonably sized shopping centre I have always found it soulless and lacking in character.
Above the main entrance, inside the building is one of two murals in the shopping centre. Tesco, who developed the shopping centre commissioned the murals to reflect the history of the area. This one depicts the wood wharves, as two of the main products brought into these docks were Scandinavian and Baltic timbers. At one point Surrey Docks had six timber ports but that all changed when large container ships were used to transport the goods. The murals were installed in 1988 but look as though they have only been painted recently.
I left the shopping centre and followed signs for Greenland Dock and then I noticed this large red bridge by the side of the road. It did take me quite some time to discover that this is the Greenland Dock Bridge. It was used to carry the road between Greenland Dock and Canada Dock. Today the bridge no longer carries the road but sits next to it. The bridge was moved here from Deptford Creek in 1959 and provided a simple bascule bridge that opened to allow the ships to go from Greenland dock to Canada Dock which was the dock furthest away from the River Thames in the Surrey Dock complex. Bascule means
seesaw or balance and this Scherzer bascule bridge is a lift bridge that rolled back on a curved base to rise so that ships could pass beneath. The bridge had two main components - the length spanning the gap and the counterweight filled with water. It sits on tracks and electric motors wind the bridge over the tracks with the assistance of cogs and racks that fix it into place at 90 degrees. An ingenious and simple feat of Victorian engineering. With the closing of the docks in the late 60s and the redevelopment of the area the bridge is no longer needed but I am pleased it is still here and easy for anyone interested to go and have a look.
It looks even bigger when you stand below it. The passageway takes you under the road and back to the shopping mall.
With my back to the bridge I am now facing the water of Greenland Dock. This is one of the earliest of London's docks. Originally Howland Great Wet Dock was laid out in 1695-99 on land owned by the first Duke of Bedford as a facility for 120 merchant ships. From 1793 it was sold and became a centre for the whaling trade and was renamed Greenland Dock. The Dock was greatly enlarged in 1895-1904 at a cost of nearly a million pounds. It was almost doubled in length and in its depth. The Greenland lock which was the entrance from the River Thames was also enlarged to enable the large ships from Canada to enter and turn around in the Dock. The Dock was closed in 1970. It is now a water sports centre.
Evidence of the dock's previous life remains in situ.
The tall buildings at the end of the dock are in Canary Wharf across the River Thames.
I walked around the dock which was a lovely walk on such a beautiful day. There are four bridges crossing parts of the dock. Only one is in its original position. The others were brought here when it was decided that this dock was not going to be filled in. This lattice bridge in the middle of the picture was constructed here in 1904 when the lock was extended to cope with larger ships. It crosses the Greenland Dock lock although the lock is no longer in use. The only way in and out of the dock is via Steel Yard Cut, a linking channel between Greenland Dock and South Dock.
South Dock runs parallel to Greenland Dock and is London's largest marina with 200 berths. It was converted into a marina in the 1990s and is now surrounded by residential homes. South Dock was built in 1811as part of one of the three competing dock companies that occupied the bend in the river at Rotherhithe. Heavily bombed during the war, it reopened afterwards but was closed along with the other docks in 1970.
This is the lock between the marina and the Thames.
Next to the marina is Greenland (Surrey Quays) Pier. The river boat service was founded in 1999 and was known as the Thames Clippers ( now called Uber at Thames Clippers). The service has 17 high speed catamarans and operates a daily service serving 23 piers along the Thames from Putney in the West to Woolwich in the East. It is a reliable and frequent service running every 10-20 minutes and is an alternative to using road or rail to get in and out of Central London.
I left the Thames to complete my walk around Greenland Dock. I was now at the opposite end to where I started. At this end of the dock there were a number of houseboats moored in what looked like permanent residential moorings.
This beautiful Bridge is the Norway Cut Swing Bridge. It was designed by James Walker in 1855 and used to be at the lock entrance to the South Dock. It was moved here in 1987 as a fixed bridge over this inlet and is no longer a swing bridge. The channel it crosses was to the former Norway Dock but this has now been blocked off and a new development called The Lakes has been constructed.
This is the view from the other side of the bridge looking out onto Greenland Dock.
I decided to leave Greenland Dock and follow the path into the new development. It wasn't what I expected at all.
Although the houses themselves don't look anything special, it is the fact that they are surrounded by water that is so different. In Venice or Amsterdam you may see scenes like this but it is very unusual here in the UK. The buildings were constructed in 1988 to 1996 and have been built out into what was the old Norway Dock. When the docks closed in 1969 this dock was filled in but the developers re-excavated it to create a water feature for the residents. The homes all have a view of the water but they enter/exit their homes via pathways and roads which you can't see from this view.
I really enjoyed just watching the ducks and the swans gliding past and imagine it would be a very pleasant and peaceful place to live here.
I followed the pathway out onto the road.
The road brought me to the back of the Moby Dick pub. The front of which looks out onto Greenland Dock.
The pub's name alludes to the whaling trade, which also gave the dock itself its present name in the 18th century after it was used to offload whale blubber and oil harvested from the Arctic Ocean.
I left Greenland Dock and walked through Russia Dock Woodland. In 1980 the Russia Dock was filled in and transformed into a park. The dock was originally used for importing timber from Norway, Russia and Sweden.
I walked through the park and came out near the station. From there I walked down Surrey Quays Road.
Built in 1887, this former Superintendent's offices of Surrey docks was restored to its original condition in 1985. The first raid of the Blitz was in London on the 7th September 1940 when the Surrey Docks and this building were set alight. During the night raids in 1940/41 this area was targeted many times. Then again in 1944 a total of 30 V1s and 7 V2s landed in Rotherhithe and Bermondsey destroying much of the area and with a great loss of life.
Across the road from the Dock offices is King George's field. It is named in memory of King George V (1865-1936). A grant of £500 from the King George's Fields Foundation was used in 1938 to create a recreation ground for children next to All Saints Church.
The church was badly damaged by rocket attacks in WW2 but wasn't demolished until 1960 when the park was extended and reshaped.
Turning right from Surrey Quays Road I walked down to the roundabout at the end of Lower Road. Turning Left takes you towards London Bridge but if you turn right you come to the Rotherhithe tunnel which takes you beneath the River Thames to Canary Wharf or the A12 out to the East.
The tunnel is one of three road tunnels (Dartford, Blackwall and Rotherhithe) that go under the Thames. This one is unusual as it is a single tunnel for two way traffic. It also has a footpath on either side for pedestrians. I am amazed that anyone would want to walk through this very busy tunnel unless they are wearing an oxygen mask.
On the other side of the right hand wall of the tunnel is this church. This is the Norwegian Church dedicated to St Olave. During the 19th and 20th century a number of Scandinavians lived in this area as sailors from Norway, Finland and Sweden came over on the ships bringing timber here from these countries and so missions and churches were set up to serve these new communities.
Around the corner from the church is Albion Street. Once a thriving market street, with the closing of the docks in 1970 and the opening of the shopping mall at Canada Water, the area is going through major regeneration. At either end of the street the pubs have both closed but new shops and businesses are opening.
It was a sunny but cold morning and I decided to visit the Deli Felice for a hot drink.
Here I met the owner, Felice, who has lived in this area most of his life. Born in Sicily he moved to England at the age of six and he has the most wonderful accent that is a mix of South London and Sicilian.
His cafe had lots of artwork on the walls as he offers free exhibition space to local artists. I enjoyed my chat with Felice and got the feeling that this cafe played an important role providing a meeting place for the community.
A little further along the road was another mission/church. Although it doesn't look like one, this is the Finnish church in London. Inside, as well as a place of worship, it also has a cafe and a shop that sells Finnish groceries and delicacies. It also runs a hostel and a genuine Finnish sauna.
I left Albion Street via a small passageway, the Railway Walk, which brought me out at Rotherhithe station. This station was on the old East London Line which opened in 1869. This line used the first tunnel built under the Thames. In fact this tunnel from Wapping to Rotherhithe was the first tunnel under a navigable river anywhere in the world. It was designed by Marc Isambard Brunel and his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel was put in charge of operations and at one time nearly lost his life in a flood in the tunnel. The tunnel was designed for horse drawn carriages but they ran out of money before its completion and they couldn't afford to build ramps at the entrance. . The tunnel was eventually opened in 1843 as a foot tunnel but was later sold to the railways and became part of the Underground system in 1865. In 2010 it became part of the London Overground with trains going South to West Croydon and Crystal palace and North to Dalston and Highbury and Islington.
I followed the street adjacent to the station which brought me out at the Brunel Museum.
The small museum is housed in Brunel's Engine House built by Marc Isambard Brunel as part of the infrastructure for the tunnel. It was constructed between 1825 and 1843 and contained the tunnel shaft and pumping house.
This Grade II listed building was once Grice's Granary, a warehouse built around 1780, it was extended during the next two centuries. Some of the wooden beams are 200 years old and were originally parts of ships. Since 1976 the building has been used by the Rotherhithe Picture Research Library and Sands Films Studio. The studio is used by many production companies for filming and recording a wide variety of programmes. The studio also makes film costumes and has produced the costumes for 'Les Misérables', 'Beauty and the Beast' as well as for the opera companies of The Metropolitan in New York and the Royal Opera House in London.
All the buildings along this street back onto the River Thames. This 17th century pub is the Mayflower named after the ship of that name. The Mayflower left Rotherhithe in July 1620 for Southampton captained by Christopher Jones. It then went on to Plymouth where it sailed across the Atlantic with 102 passengers and a crew of 30. The pilgrims as they were known landed and settled in Massachusetts. Captain Jones returned to Rotherhithe on the Mayflower in 1621. He died lass than a year later and is buried in the church opposite. There is a statue dedicated to him in the churchyard.
Around the ship shaped base of the memorial are the words: To the memory of Christopher Jones 1570-1622, master of the Mayflower. He landed 102 planters & adventurers at Plymouth Massachusetts 21 Dec 1620. They formed the first permanent colony in New England. The statue was paid for by relatives of the Mayflower pilgrims.
This is the church of St Mary built in 1715 by John James an associate of Sir Christopher Wren. The churchyard contains a number of graves and memorials to sailors and captains who lived and died in Rotherhithe.
Near the church is this early 18th century building which was once the St Mary Rotherhithe Free School. The free school was originally founded by Peter Hills and Robert Bell in 1613 for the education of eight sons of seafarers who lived in the parish. Peter Hills was a sailor who became Master of Trinity House during the reign of Elizabeth I and James I. Hills left the sum of £3 a year in his will to pay for a school master and another £3 for its upkeep. In the early 18th century the school received a large donation and increased its intake to 65 boys and 50 girls. In 1797 the school moved to this building on St Marychurch Street where two stone statues dressed in the traditional school bluecoats of the day can be seen. In 1836 the girls moved out of the building and were educated at the new St Mary's School close by in Lower road Rotherhithe. This building was extended at the back and by the late 1800s up to 200 boys were educated here. The school was evacuated in 1939. However, the name of Peter Hills and his role in establishing the first free school in the parish of St Mary's, Rotherhithe has not been forgotten. A short distance away is the school 'Peter Hills with St Mary's and St Paul's Church of England Primary School' which opened in 1982.
The old house cum school has since been converted into offices.
Next to the school building is this small low building known as the 'watch house'. It was used by a watchman or constable whose job was to look out for wrongdoers especially grave robbers or 'Resurrection Men'. These men would rob the graves of fresh corpses to sell for medical research. It was rife in this area due to the proximity of Guys Hospital which needed the bodies for medical research. The watch-house was closed when the Metropolitan Police was formed 1829.
Before returning to Canada Water station I returned to the Thames path which was just a couple of minutes walk away from St Marychurch Street to have a look at the river. You can see the tall Shard building in the distance at London Bridge just two miles away. I hope you have enjoyed exploring this historic area, south of the river, with me.
